How To Piss Off A Supervillain (Without Really Trying)
by lizzieonawhim
Summary: When Artemis wakes up in the Bialyan desert with Kid Flash leaning over her, she knows immediately what Sportsmaster wants her to do. Unfortunately for him, she's not going to play his game. AU.
1. Chapter 1

**TRIGGER WARNINGS: Abuse (physical and emotional/psychological), graphic depictions of violence, mentions of rape, mentions of gay-bashing.**

I am so sorry that was missing before, you guys. I really am supposed to know better.

On with the story!

* * *

"Hey... hey beautiful. Wake up."

Artemis wasn't used to waking up slowly, and she didn't like it. Groaning, she forced her eyes open: someone was leaning over her. The image solidified into a redheaded boy around her age, with green eyes and what he probably thought was a reassuring grin on his face. At that moment, Artemis's brain finally caught up to what she was seeing; with a gasp, she scrambled backwards until she hit a wall, instinctively grabbing her bow and quiver as she went. Stupid, stupid, stupid! she cursed herself. After everything she'd been through, she knew better than to let her guard down around – well, around anyone.

"Hey, it's okay, it's okay!" the stranger said quickly, holding out his hands in a placating gesture. "I won't hurt you. I-I'm one of the good guys. You know – Kid Flash!" He got to his feet, placing one hand on his hip as he gestured at himself with the other.

It had to be a trick. "Seen Kid Flash on the news," said Artemis. "He doesn't wear black." It was true: although the black getup this stranger wore had some design elements in common with the famous sidekick's costume, he looked more like some kind of evil doppelganger than an actual hero. Evil doppelgangers were just bad news for everyone, which was why her dad wouldn't work with them. Too unpredictable, he always said, and too focused on their heroic counterparts to be useful for much.

"Black? What – oh, right, stealth mode. Here." He poked the red lightning bolt on his chest; canary yellow and red flooded out over his body, transforming his outfit into the far more familiar costume of the Flash's sidekick. "Better?" Artemis nodded warily, but kept back. "So... what about you? What are you doing out in the middle of the desert dressed up like a ninja?"

Artemis glowered at him. "What's it to you?" She didn't spare a glance for the loose black pants and form-fitting, long sleeved shirt that constituted her mission gear; she'd taken to wearing it to bed, just in case something like this happened.

"Nothing, nothing! I was just curious, beautiful, no need to get upset." His eyes fell on the weapon in her hand. "So, uh... d'you know how to use that bow?"

"Yeah, my dad taught me." Then it clicked. "Dad! He must have done this. Another one of his stupid tests." Anger flooded her. It had been less than a week since their last mission. Couldn't he cut her some –

Oh. The mission.

Oh.

"What kind of test?"

"He probably wants me to kill you." The words were out before Artemis could think about it; otherwise, she never would have said a word. No competent assassin would ever let on to their mark about their plans, as her father would no doubt remind her when he debriefed her later.

Maybe it was for the best. He'd run, she'd never catch him, and when her dad came to get her in a few days, Artemis could just say her mouth had gotten away with her. Two failed assignments in a row would cost her dearly, but at least her humanity would remain intact. For now, anyway.

The next thing Artemis knew, Kid Flash was gripping her hand tightly in his as he towed her out of the small shack in which they'd been sheltering, just before it was hit by a tank missile. The explosion threw them both forward, prompting twin cries of pain and startlement and forcing Kid Flash to lose his grip. The two teens hit the ground and looked back in tandem, then scrambled to their feet and started running down the long, red canyon in which the shack had previously stood. Artemis realized almost immediately that she, at least, could never outrun a tank; thinking fast, she threw herself forward into a somersault and took cover behind a large red boulder. Quickly, she aimed and shot; one of the tanks capsized and skidded past her down the canyon. Before she could shoot again, she suddenly found herself speeding away in the arms of a superhero. She braced one hand against Kid Flash's shoulder to pull away and look at him in astonishment.

"Sorry! They've got bigger arrows," he said. As if to illustrate his point, several tank missiles exploded nearby; Artemis ducked her head, squeezed her eyes shut, and curled in tight against the speedster's chest as he zipped around them. As the explosions faded away, she opened her eyes.

"Thanks," she said, a little breathlessly. A part of her was painfully aware of what this meant – the mission was still on; her dad would still expect her to kill Kid Flash – but most of her was just grateful to be alive. If Artemis was honest with herself, she hadn't expected to make it out of that canyon. She certainly hadn't expected her mark to save her, right after she straight-up admitted he was her mark.

Kid Flash grinned as he sped into the open desert. "Hey, I told you: good guy. Now, not to pry, but uh, what's your name? Oh, and what's this about you killing me?"

Artemis's eyes widened; what could she say? If she told him Sportsmaster was her father, he'd freak. "N-nothing," she said, laughing nervously. "I was just messing with you. 'My dad wants me to kill you,' hah! I can't believe you fell for that."

"If you say so," said Kid Flash, giving her a skeptical look.

There was an awkward silence; then, "I really don't want to kill you," Artemis blurted.

Kid Flash grinned at her. "Good to know, beautiful." They sped on.

* * *

For a while, they ran in silence. The sun had edged all the way above the horizon when Kid Flash skidded to a halt and set Artemis on her feet. She looked and saw him bent over, hands on his knees, and panting heavily. "Sorry," he gasped. "Running on empty. Don't think I've eaten in a while." He straightened and popped open a hidden compartment on his forearm; it was empty. "Bare," he said, looking alarmed. "I always keep my cupboards full. Unc – the Flash insists."

Interesting; so the Flashes needed to eat to run. Artemis wondered if her father had known this when he took away Kid Flash's food supply. "So what happens now?" she asked.

"Well," said Kid Flash, "unless there's an emergency, I'm about done running for the day." He grimaced. "And even then, I probably won't make it far. We should probably walk for a while."

Artemis nodded, and fell into step beside him as they started walking. "Do you even know where we're going?" she asked.

Kid Flash scratched his head. "Well, I don't know exactly where we are, but those looked like Bialyan soldiers, so we're probably somewhere in the Bialyan Desert. If we keep heading in this direction, we should run into the Qurac border," he said. "Hopefully, my friends will find us before then, but if not, we can find help there."

"Friends?" Artemis inquired.

"Yeah," Kid Flash said, grinning. "My team. There's Robin, and then there's Aqualad, and Superboy, and of course the lovely Miss Martian, and we're all on a team together and we go on missions and fight the badguys and stuff."

Artemis arched an eyebrow at him. "And let me guess, you have your own special clubhouse, too."

"I'm going to ignore the sarcasm, because we totally do, and it's awesome," Kid Flash informed her. "I can't tell you where it is, of course-"

"Of course."

"-But I bet it's way cooler than, uh... say, where are you from?"

Artemis shrugged. "Around."

"Wow, so specific," he teased. "Hey, I never caught your name earlier."

"It's Artemis," she said.

"Like the goddess of the hunt? Cool! Got a bit of a thing for Greek mythology, huh?" Kid Flash said with a wink.

Artemis shrugged. "I dunno, my dad picked it out."

"The same dad who wants you to – whoa, wait, back up. You told me your name?" said Kid Flash, flabbergasted.

"You asked for it," Artemis pointed out, a little irritated.

"Well, yeah, but I didn't mean your real one! I meant, like, a code name or something."

Artemis shrugged. "I don't have one."

Kid Flash rolled his eyes. "So you make one up. But you shouldn't just go around telling people your real name, I mean–"

"Listen," Artemis interrupted, "how far a walk do you think it is to the Qurac border?" She didn't see why she should bother with a codename when she didn't have any friends and her family were all supervillains anyway.

"I – I don't know," said Kid Flash, frowning. "I don't really walk a lot of places, plus I've never really been here before."

"Great," Artemis muttered. "So it could be days. We need to find water ASAP."

"Well, that shouldn't be too hard," said Kid Flash with a shrug. "All we need to do is find a cactus or something. Those have water in them, right?"

"Have you been seeing a lot of plant life around here, Kid Optimist?" Artemis demanded.

"Kid Optimist, huh? I like that," he said, grinning. "And you need to quit being such a sourpuss. I told you, my friends will be out looking for me. Chances are, they'll find us long before hydration becomes a serious problem."

Artemis wondered what it must be like to have that much faith in someone. Must be nice, she thought. "We have three days, tops." If her dad didn't show up before then.

"They'll find us," Kid Flash said firmly. "You'll see."

* * *

They'd been walking for about an hour when Artemis crested a hill and stopped. "Hey," she said to Kid Flash. They were both breathing heavily in the hot desert air. She gestured. "Do you see what I see?" A wide swath of level sand dotted with dry, green brush cut through the hills in front of them, twisting and turning as it went.

"I don't see anything," said Kid Flash, leaning on his knees a few feet away.

Artemis rolled her eyes. "It's a riverbed, genius. We can find water here." She started down the hill.

"Uhh, Artemis?" said Kid Flash as he followed behind. "I don't know if you noticed, but, uh... it kinda looks like this riverbed is, well... dry."

"Well duh," she said, going to her knees roughly in the middle of it. "It's the dry season. Help me dig, Flash Boy."

"It's Kid Flash," he muttered, but he did as she said. A few minutes later, when their hole was about a foot and a half deep, water started seeping in at the bottom. "Sweet!" Kid Flash exclaimed, reaching in for a drink.

Artemis swatted his hand away. "Wait until the sediment settles, then drink."

"Aw, but Artemis," he whined.

"Do you want to be drinking mud?"

"No, but–"

"Then wait." Kid Flash pouted, but obliged. They didn't have to wait long, though from the way Kid Flash fidgeted, it might as well have been days. When Artemis gave the okay, she had to scold him into drinking slowly so they wouldn't waste any. Who knew when they'd find water again?

They'd just finished drinking and were standing up when Artemis heard the unmistakable sound of heavy machinery approaching. Artemis looked at Kid Flash. "Do you-"

"Yeah," he said, looking grim. He started to scoop Artemis up.

"Wait!" she said. "They're not here yet. Maybe we can-" Hide, she was about to say, but at that moment they heard the buzzing roar of airplane engines; two shadows passed over. Artemis looked up and saw two drones wheeling in the air to fly back. A moment later, gunfire sounded.

"Get down!" Kid Flash shouted; they both hit the dirt. As the planes came back for another pass, Artemis got to her knees, drew an arrow, and lined up her shot. A moment later she let fly; her arrow struck one plane and knocked it into the other just as they crossed over each other in midair, blowing them both out of the sky in a cloud of fire and smoke. "Whoa," said Kid Flash. Just then, three tanks came into view around the riverbend. Artemis and Kid Flash locked eyes briefly; a moment later, they were speeding away across the desert, just like before.

It didn't last long. Soon, Artemis felt a jolt, then suddenly found herself tumbling across the desert, letting out involuntary cries of pain and surprise as she went. She finally came to a stop face-down and just stayed there for a moment, breathing heavily. This was insane. This whole thing was insane.

"Hey, you okay?" said a familiar voice. Artemis looked over to see Kid Flash propping himself up on his elbows a few feet a way. She gave a dry, humorless laugh.

"Yeah," she said. "Just peachy. I mean, we're totally stranded in the middle of the desert and now the Bialyan military is out to get us for no apparent reason, but sure. I'm great. No problemo."

Kid Flash coughed. "Uh, the army thing is probably on me," he said. "Queen Bee and the Justice League aren't exactly, uh... they're not on the best terms."

"Great," Artemis muttered. They both stood up. "We need to get out of the open." She shaded her eyes and scanned the horizon. "There." She pointed at a rock formation off in the distance, wavering in the heat. "Do you see that?"

Kid Flash shaded his own eyes and squinted, then frowned. "That big pile of rocks?"

Good, it wasn't a mirage. "Yeah. If we can make it there without getting spotted again, we might have somewhere we can spend the night without having to worry about dodging tanks." Assuming it wasn't inhabited, but Artemis wasn't in the mood to borrow trouble just then. She looked at Kid Flash. "Can you...?"

He shook his head. "If I were on my own, then maybe, but after that?" He gestured vaguely behind them. "I don't think I have it in me to carry anyone that far. Don't say it," he added warningly as Artemis opened her mouth. "I'm not leaving you behind."

"I can take care of myself." Artemis started walking; Kid Flash followed suit.

"I'm sure you can, beautiful, but that's not the point."

"Then what is the point?"

"The point," said Kid Flash, "is that we're in this together, and the good guys never leave a man behind." He glanced at her and winked. "Or a very pretty lady, as the case may be."

Artemis rolled her eyes; he probably thought he sounded suave. "That's dumb," she told him.

Kid Flash shrugged. "Not really. It's how the human race became the dominant species on the planet. If we'd just treated everything like it was every man for himself, we never would have made it past the Prehistoric era. Humans are pretty squishy, and not very fast. Loyalty, friendship – they're survival traits."

"For the species," Artemis pointed out. "For the individual, they're as likely to get you killed as anything else." In the back of her mind, she heard a nearly-forgotten voice whisper, 'Every girl for herself.' She squashed it down.

"Not necessarily," said Kid Flash. "See, the idea is that if everybody does it, then whenever anybody needs a helping hand, someone will be there for them. It's not just a one-way thing."

Artemis thought of some of the people she'd met over the years – her dad's colleagues, mostly – and snorted. "Yeah, like that's ever gonna happen."

"Maybe not," Kid Flash said quietly. "But that doesn't mean it isn't worth fighting for." Artemis didn't answer; she just stared moodily downward and kicked at the sand as she walked. It was a nice idea, one that called to her, but Artemis hadn't had the luxury of believing in such things since she was nine years old.

"So..." said Kid Flash, after a few minutes of silence, "are you made of copper telluride?"

Artemis blinked. "Am I what?"

"Because you are Cu-Te!"

She stared at him. "You did not just say that."

"What?"

Artemis just rolled her eyes and walked ahead. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

It was indeed a very long day of walking in the hot sun. There were three more tank sightings; even Kid Flash lost his taste for conversation after Artemis reminded him that if they got caught because they were too busy chatting to watch the horizon, he wouldn't be able to speed them away from danger like he had that morning. Once, they had to drop behind a dune and wait for nearly an hour while a patrol rolled across the desert between them and their destination. Kid Flash, having spotted them first, had grabbed Artemis's hand to pull her down to hide; she found herself gripping it like a lifeline while they waited. If the column turned, or if another turned up from the other direction while they were like this, they'd be sitting ducks. Kid Flash hadn't been wrong when he'd said the other guys had bigger arrows. They didn't encounter any more airplanes, which was a blessing. Artemis had no idea what they'd've done about that.

It was long past sunset when Artemis and Kid Flash finally made it to the rock formation. Both teens were tired, thirsty, sunburned, and heavily coated with dust, but their experiences throughout the day had impressed upon them the seriousness of the situation. They made sure to perform a thorough search of the area to make sure they were really alone before reconvening in a small, cave-like area towards the center of the formation. Artemis took note of a craggy section where she was fairly certain she could climb to look out over the top, and relaxed. "We should be safe here," she said. "I'll take first watch." She started to head for her new lookout post.

"Wh – first watch? Artemis, wait." Kid Flash grabbed her arm instinctively; she glared at it until he let go, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "I – look, it's been a long day. We're both really tired, and I'm honestly kinda scared that if you go up on that rock you're gonna fall and break your neck, so um... please don't?"

"But we have to-"

"I know," he interrupted. "And we will, we'll set up watches and everything, but I really think we should at least sit down first – both of us."

Artemis hesitated, but then Kid Flash gave her this wide-eyed, pleading look that ought to have been illegal on any human being over the age of seven. She sighed. "Okay, okay, fine, just stop looking at me like that. It's–" adorable "–embarrassing." Kid Flash just grinned at her as they both sat down against one of the rocky walls of their shelter.

For a moment, all was quiet. Artemis leaned her head back and closed her eyes, figuring that if she had to be resting, she could at least get something out of it. She wouldn't fall asleep, though, no matter how inviting the darkness behind her eyelids seemed.

"Lot of stars out here tonight," said Kid Flash, just as Artemis felt herself slipping.

"Hmm?"

She could feel him grinning. "You're not falling asleep on me, are you, beautiful?"

"No," she mumbled, without opening her eyes.

"That's what they all say." Artemis sighed and forced her eyes open. "Whoa, hey, that's not – you don't have to – you can fall asleep if you want," the speedster blurted. "I'll take first watch, it's fine."

Artemis shook her head. "I want first watch." It wasn't that she didn't trust Kid Flash not to do something stupidly gallant like let her sleep the whole night through, it was just that she didn't trust him not to do something stupidly gallant like let her sleep the whole night through. Then he'd probably fall asleep himself, despite his best intentions, and they'd be ambushed in the middle of the night. Artemis didn't often cross paths with the average American suburb kid, raised far away from everyday violence and the casual breakdown of moral society, but she knew how to recognize one when she saw him. No way was a kid like him up for an all-night watch, especially not after the day they'd just had.

"If you're sure," Kid Flash said, breaking into her thoughts. He sounded doubtful.

"Positive." Her tone brooked no argument. They sat in silence for a bit.

"Artemis," Kid Flash began, then paused. Artemis turned to look at him, but couldn't really make much out in the dark. "I know I said I wasn't going to pry, but..."

"You need to know who's behind all this." She'd been expecting this.

"Y-yeah. Sorry."

"It's fine." Artemis sighed and braced herself. She'd gotten to like Kid Flash. "It's... it's my dad. Sportsmaster."

Kid Flash's head jerked up. "Sportsmaster?"

"Uh-huh."

"Sportsmaster the supervillian?" Artemis almost wished she could see the look on his face; in any other situation, it would probably be hilarious.

"Yeah."

"He has a kid?"

"Two, actually," Artemis said. "But, uh, Cheshire's... not around much."

"Chesh – wait, you're related to Cheshire?"

"And our mom is Huntress, yeah. Look, do you want to find out what's going on or not?"

"Sorry, sorry, it's just – Sportsmaster. Has kids."

Artemis rolled her eyes and continued: "Dad always wanted me and Ja – Cheshire to follow in his footsteps: become supervillains, join the League of Shadows... He started training us when we were little. My sister ran away years ago, but I stayed. I wanted to be there when mom got out of prison. When the training got harder, that was all I'd think about. I'd keep telling myself that mom would get out soon, and then everything would be okay." Artemis laughed bitterly. "I don't know why I thought that would fix anything."

"She's your mom," said Kid Flash. "Moms are supposed to fix stuff like that."

"Yeah. Well. Anyway, she was supposed to get out last year, but... something went wrong, I guess. Way wrong. Then Dad started doing this thing where he'd just drop me off in the middle of nowhere and tell me to find my own way home." She scowled. "I guess this time he decided to make it interesting. He gave me a target: you."

"But then why take away my food supply?" Kid Flash wanted to know. "I mean, if it's supposed to be a challenge..."

Artemis shook her head. "I doubt he knew about the connection between the food and your speed. Besides, I don't think he's testing my combat abilities. He – there was a mission, a – a special mission. I had the perfect shot; I could've taken down the target right then and there... but I missed. On purpose." She swallowed. "Guess Dad caught on."

"Wow," said Kid Flash.

"Yeah, pretty messed up, huh?"

"No! Well, I mean, yeah, it's pretty messed up that your dad's been training you to kill people, but that's not... It's just, after everything you've been through, you wouldn't take the shot." Artemis cringed with shame. "That's... that's amazing."

Her head jerked up. "Amazing?" Had she heard right?

"Well, yeah," Kid Flash said, furrowing his brow in puzzlement at her tone. "You lived with your dad for years without letting him turn you into a murderer. I mean, you could've turned out like Cheshire."

"Dad says mercy is a sign of weakness," Artemis said.

Her new friend scowled. "Well, he's wrong," he said. "Hanging onto your principles is about the strongest thing I can think of. You're really brave, Artemis; I mean it."

Artemis ducked her head, though she knew it was too dark for him to see her blush. "Thanks." A cool gust of wind blew through their little cavern; Artemis shivered.

"Hey, are you cold? Here." Before she could object, Kid Flash scooted closer and slung an arm over her shoulders. "Better?"

Artemis opened her mouth, then closed it, then opened and closed it again. "Yeah," she said finally. "Thanks." Then, to save her pride, she added: "Pretty smooth, for the copper-and-tellurium guy."

Kid Flash groaned. "I'm never gonna live that down, am I?"

"Nope." Artemis smirked, though she knew he couldn't see it. "So what about you? How'd you end up stuck in the middle of the desert with an assassin's daughter?"

If there was one thing redheads could do better than anybody else, it was blush. Artemis wondered if Kid Flash was blushing right now; from the awkward way he was rubbing the back of his neck, she imagined so. "Eh-heh... well... it's kind of embarrassing." Artemis just arched an eyebrow and waited. "I was on my way to the Ca – to my team's secret hideout for a mission, only I guess I wasn't paying attention. There was a tripwire in one of the alleyways; I ran right into it. Never saw who knocked me out, but I'm guessing it was your dad?"

"Probably," said Artemis. "He likes to get his hands dirty."

"Right, well. Next thing I knew, I was waking up in the desert. Saw you passed out a few feet away, so I grabbed you and brought you to that shack, and... well, you know the rest."

Artemis blinked; she hadn't known that last bit. "Oh. Well, thanks." She cleared her throat. "For, y'know, taking me with you."

Kid Flash looked a little offended. "Well, I wasn't gonna just leave you. What kind of jerk do you think I am?"

Artemis shrugged. "Where I come from, they're just called normal people."

Kid Flash was silent for a moment; Artemis could almost feel him staring at her. "Well," he said at last, "not everywhere is like that."

"If you say so." Artemis yawned and leaned her head on his shoulder. She knew she should start her watch soon, but maybe it would be okay if she just... closed her eyes... for a minute...

* * *

Wally hardly dared to breathe when Artemis's head dropped onto his shoulder. He'd never had a girl this close to him before, outside of the occasional rescue mission, and that was totally different. For a moment, he was too caught up in the tingles he felt everywhere her body touched his to do anything but stare. Her hair gleamed silver in the moonlight as it cascaded over her shoulder; the end of her ponytail curled just a few inches above the ground. "Artemis?" he whispered at last, as if anything louder would break the spell. There was no response; Wally looked closer and saw that she was asleep. He huffed out a breath of silent laughter. _"I'll take the first watch," she says._ Well, that was all right; Wally could keep a lookout while she slept. He started to disentangle himself, but froze when the archer shivered. Wally knew it was dumb, but he couldn't stand the thought of her shivering down here in the dark by herself. Against his better judgment (not that he ever listened to it), he settled back in and pulled Artemis closer. He could keep watch from down here, right? Yeah, he decided, ignoring the voices in his head that sounded like Uncle Barry and Robin telling him not to be an idiot. Yeah, it'd be fine.

* * *

"Well, well, well, isn't this adorable." Artemis jolted alert at the sound of her father's voice, waking Kid Flash in the process. They both scrambled to their feet. "But I think you may have missed the point of this assignment, baby girl," Sportsmaster continued. "So why don't you go ahead and shoot your little boyfriend there and we'll head home to review your abysmal performance."

Dark shapes emerges from the shadows to surround the pair: her father's henchmen. Artemis looked over at Kid Flash; his green eyes looked steadily back as he slipped his hand into hers and squeezed. She took a deep breath and looked back at her father. "Not a chance."

"Have it your way." Sportsmaster stepped back. Artemis released Kid Flash's hand to draw an arrow and put it to the string; she only had time to fire three before Sportsmaster's men were upon them. She bashed one with her bow and ducked under another's swing, turning the motion into a sweep kick that sent him crashing to the ground. Beside her, Artemis heard Kid Flash cry out; quickly, she maneuvered herself to stand protectively over his fallen form. She brought one guy down with an uppercut to the jaw and another with a roundhouse to the side of the head. It was futile, of course; her dad knew her capabilities and had brought more than enough men to subdue her. Still, every moment Artemis fought was another moment Kid Flash got to keep breathing, even if he wasn't awake to appreciate it. Artemis took down three more henchmen before those moments were up; then a sharp pain erupted in the back of her skull and she knew no more.


	2. Chapter 2

When Artemis awoke, the first thing she noticed was that she had a pounding headache; the second was that someone was running a hand through her hair (that person was about to lose a hand); and the third-

"...Never knew it was so boring being kidnapped. Seriously, there is literally _nothing_ to do in here. So if you could just wake up so I'll have someone to talk to, I'd consider it a personal favor." Artemis' eyes snapped open involuntarily; she found herself looking up at a very-much-not-dead Kid Flash. He offered her the same blinding grin he had when they first met. "Hey, beautiful."

Artemis stared at him. "You're not dead."

"Nope!" he said cheerfully. He ran his hand through her hair again; Artemis decided he could keep all his limbs after all. She hadn't gotten her head bashed in by some no-name flunky just so he could die of blood loss later. (It had nothing to do with him being super cute and sweet and really, stupidly brave and optimistic. Nothing at all.)

"But... how are you not dead?" Or rather, _why? _Whatever Sportsmaster's reason was for keeping Kid Flash alive, it couldn't be good.

Kid Flash just shrugged. "Dunno," he said. "I haven't exactly been looking that gift horse in the mouth. Here." Carefully, he helped Artemis sit up; she let out an involuntary groan as the movement caused pain to spike in her skull. "Headache?"

"Yeah," she said, wincing a little as she brought a hand to her head. There was no blood, thankfully; Artemis did not relish the idea of having to have her head shaved later to apply a bandage.

If there was a later.

"They must have hit you pretty hard," said Kid Flash. "I woke up about an hour ago, and you were still out. Did you give 'em hell?"

"Absolutely." They shared a sharp-toothed grin, but quickly sobered as they remembered their situation. Artemis had given her father and his henchmen hell, but they were now in a position to give her far more.

"So, uh... do you know where we are? Because I, for one, have no idea."

Artemis looked around, taking note of the packed dirt floors, stone walls, and shiny steel bars caging them in. She nodded. "Abandoned castle in Scotland. Too much of a hike for tourists, not scenic enough to bother building a road. No towns for miles; even the locals have mostly forgotten about it. Dad uses this place for... short-term prisoners." She grimaced, realizing what that probably meant.

Kid Flash also winced. "Right. So. Next question: how do we get out of here? Can we dig under those bars?"

Artemis shook her head. "Those go down for an additional five feet. Dad knows what he's doing." She frowned thoughtfully. "Can you do that thing the Flash does where he vibrates his molecules through solid objects?"

"Not even without the inhibitor collar," Kid Flash said, tapping the heavy black band around his neck. "I've been working on it, but so far I just get a bloody nose."

Artemis sighed. "How did I not notice the inhibitor collar?"

"You are most likely concussed," Kid Flash informed her. "Cut yourself some slack."

"What about you? You got hit on the head, too," Artemis pointed out.

Kid Flash grinned. "Mom always says I have a thick skull."

Artemis rolled her eyes and swatted his shoulder half-heartedly. "So basically, we're stuck here." Her body went cold all over as she considered the implications of the fact that they were trapped in a remote location, outnumbered and unarmed, at the mercy of her very angry father.

Artemis had seen Sportsmaster get angry many, many times. She always wished she would never see it again.

"Hey, don't worry," Kid Flash said. "We'll find a way out of this." His green eyes were earnest. It occurred to Artemis that this kid had never been in a fight he hadn't won; he'd never seen the good guys go down and never get back up again. She wondered if it had occurred to him that they really could die here. She remembered the countless innocent people her father had tortured, beaten, and killed in front of her eyes and shivered. Would he do that to his own daughter? Could he?

One thing was for sure: he'd do it to Kid Flash.

"So... can I ask you a question?" Artemis shrugged; Kid Flash continued, "When your mom didn't get out of jail, why'd you stick around? N-not that I'm blaming you," he said hurriedly. "Your dad just seems like a jerk, that's all."

Artemis sighed. "Well, what was I supposed to do? After my sister left, Dad got a lot more careful. He started keeping my important documents - my birth certificate, my social security card - in a locked safe under his bed. Same with my weapons, when I'm not using them. I don't even know what he does with the money from our assignments, but I've never seen a cent."

"Whoa."

"Yeah. I wouldn't be surprised if he installed bars on my window and a lock on the door after this." Artemis hugged her knees up to her chest. "So what was I supposed to do, just walk out the door with the clothes on my back? I had nowhere to go and no way to get there if I did."

"That's messed up," Kid Flash said quietly.

"That's my life."

A warm hand settled on Artemis's knee; she looked up. Kid Flash was giving her one of those earnest looks of his, the ones that always made the hard knot of grim cynicism in her chest loosen just a little bit. "It doesn't have to be."

They both fell silent at the sound of a door opening somewhere down the hall. Kid Flash was the first on his feet; he immediately offered a hand to Artemis, who took it and stood. She tried to ignore the way the world swayed around her at the movement, but couldn't help staggering a little. Kid Flash put his hands on her waist to steady her.

"Hands off my daughter, Kid Brat," snarled a familiar voice.

Artemis couldn't help it: she laughed. "Really, dad? You're gonna play that card? One of _your_ henchmen gave me a concussion."

"That's been taken care of," said Sportsmaster, still glaring at Kid Flash. The villain's mask was off; Artemis supposed he figured it didn't matter, since Artemis already knew and Kid Flash... she gulped. Kid Flash was going to die soon anyway. "Can't have the hired help damaging my protege."

"Right," said Artemis, "that's your job."

His eyes flicked over to her and narrowed. "Though evidently, you do need a lesson in manners." He raised a hand and snapped; henchmen appeared at his back. One went to a panel on the other side of the room, while the remaining four surrounded the door to the cell. Artemis tensed, and felt Kid Flash do the same; when the door opened, they lunged in unison. The scuffle that ensued was very brief; between Artemis's head injury and Kid Flash's missing superspeed, neither of them could really put up much of a fight. Before she knew it, she had been handily restrained by two goons (two! Artemis hadn't been that easily held back since she was nine) while the other two dragged Kid Flash from the cell.

Artemis's blood ran cold.

"No!" she shouted, thrashing against the two men's hold. The world tilted and swayed dangerously, but she fought on. "Get off me, you bastards. Let me go!" Indifferent to her curses and struggles, the two men threw Artemis towards the back of the cell; she lost her balance and toppled over. By the time she regained her equilibrium, the cell door had clanged shut behind them. Artemis flung herself at the bars nonetheless, slamming her fists against the unyielding steel. "Don't you touch him," she snarled. In response, Sportsmaster looked her right in the eye, smiled, and backhanded Kid Flash across the face. Kid Flash let out an involuntary grunt of pain and stumbled in his captors' grasp; Artemis screamed with helpless rage.

"It's time you learned, baby girl," Sportsmaster snarled. "There's no such thing as heroes, and if there were... this is what would happen to 'em." He backhanded Kid Flash again, from the other side. Artemis yanked at the bars futilely. Her own headache was forgotten entirely as she stared at Kid Flash and willed him to fight back, willed herself to develop superstrength or intangibility or – or teleportation so she could get out of this cage and _do_ something, anything. It happened sometimes, right? Perfectly ordinary people could develop superpowers in response to extreme stress. Artemis was far from ordinary, but maybe if she just _wanted_ it badly enough...

Kid Flash's eyes were screwed shut with pain, but Artemis must have made some kind of noise, because he opened them to look at her. Artemis was sure she would never get over how bright those eyes were. In her mind's eye she saw all the different people her father had killed in front of her, flashing past one-by-one in an endless slideshow: men and women of every color and creed, beaten, stabbed, shot, beheaded, skulls crushed like watermelons, their blood spattering her clothes... The thought of this bright-eyed boy becoming one of them made her want to scream loud enough to bring down the castle around them. Who was it that had the sonic scream? Black Crow? Black Canary, that was it.

Kid Flash gathered his feet under him and turned that green gaze on Sportsmaster, blazing with defiance. Standing shakily under his own power, he said, "Is that all you've got?"

Sportsmaster smirked. "Don't worry, Kid." He slammed a fist into Kid Flash's stomach; the teen doubled over, wheezing. "We're just getting started."

"Then start already," the boy challenged hoarsely. "My g-grama hits harder than y- aargh!" Sportsmaster had socked him in the jaw, hard. _Oh god, Kid,_ Artemis thought, sick to her stomach. _Stop provoking him._ She'd wanted him to _fight_ back, not quip. It occurred to her that this was probably the best he could do under the circumstances, and she immediately changed her mind: _don't fight back, Kid Flash. Just... just be quiet, and hope he goes easy on you._

"Is this what a hero is?" the supervillain sneered. He kneed Kid Flash in the gut, right where he had hit before, prompting a groan. "An idiot who fights battles he's already lost?" He stomped on the young hero's foot, hard enough to break bone; Kid Flash howled in pain. Artemis bit her lip and tasted blood. "Face it, kid. You can't win this one."

"Not... the point," Kid Flash gasped.

"Oh yeah? Then what is the point? Principle?" Sportsmaster kicked his captive in the shin in a move that reminded Artemis of nothing so much as a schoolyard bully. "You heroes and your damn principles." He motioned the guards away and slipped a baseball bat off his back; without the two henchmen's support, Kid Flash fell to his hands and knees. "Let's find out how much those are really worth." Sportsmaster raised the bat and struck, repeatedly; the bat landed across Kid Flash's shoulders and back again and again, amidst cries of pain.

"No, Dad, stop!" Artemis hadn't bothered saying those words in years, but now they spilled out without conscious thought: "Dad, please, no, hurt me instead, just don't..."

The bat clattered to the floor; Artemis fell silent immediately, hardly daring to hope. Ignoring the faint, hoarse "No!" from behind him, Sportsmaster strode over, grabbed his daughter in a vicious chokehold, and slammed her against the bars.

"I didn't raise no stinking martyrs, baby girl," he snarled, as Artemis struggled for breath. "Now he's going to suffer for that, and you're going to watch."

"Leave her alone!" Artemis and her dad both blinked in startlement at the low, angry words. Sportsmaster released his grip; Artemis fell to the ground, harsh coughs wracking her body. She watched through watering eyes as her father strode over to where Kid Flash knelt, the discarded baseball bat clenched in the young hero's white-knuckled grip. None of the five guards now standing along the walls twitched as the speedster swung; Sportsmaster caught it one-handed and wrenched the weapon out of his prisoner's hands, then flipped it into his own grip and swung. Kid Flash yelped as it made contact with his ribs. In the next instant, Sportsmaster had dropped the bat to grip a handful of bright red hair in one hand, while the other drew a hunting knife from his belt.

"Now, Artemis," he said, holding the knife to Kid Flash's throat, "here's the part where you get to beg me to beat up your little boyfriend instead of you. If you ask very nicely, he lives; if not..." He tightened his grip on the hair and let the blade dig in a little. Artemis stared in horrified fascination at the trickle of blood that dripped slowly over the gleaming metal. "I'm sure you get the picture." Artemis gulped. "Well, baby girl? I'm waiting." Kid Flash had one eye squeezed shut from the pain, but the other was open and watching her. In spite of his bravado, Artemis saw fear there. She looked away.

"Please beat up Kid Flash instead of me." The words made her sick; she forced them out past gritted teeth.

"Nice try, baby girl, but I don't think I believe you." Sportsmaster smirked at her. "I'm feeling sportsmanlike, so I'll give you one more shot. Better make it count."

Artemis took a deep breath and met her father's eyes. "Please don't beat me up, Dad." She swallowed. "Do it to him instead." The words came out harsh and flat, but steady. She held her breath, never breaking eye contact. Sportsmaster's eyes narrowed; he yanked Kid Flash's head back. Artemis started forward involuntarily, straining against the bars – and the hunting knife dropped and slid back into its sheath.

"Very good, baby girl," said Sportsmaster. "For now, I'll only dislocate his shoulder-" a sharp twist and a yell of pain "-and break his leg." He stomped on Kid Flash's calf; the speedster screamed in agony. Sportsmaster smirked. "Then again, that was pretty entertaining. Maybe I'll just-" He paused and put a hand to his ear. "What is it? I'm busy." A pause. "What, now? Can't it wait?" Another pause. "All right, Luthor, but it better be really goddamn important. I'll be there in ten minutes." He dropped his hand and looked first at Artemis, then at Kid Flash. "Looks like it's your lucky day, kid. I've got an important call coming in, which means you get to live for another hour or so." Sportsmaster raised a hand and snapped his fingers; the henchmen came forward again. One grabbed each of Wally's arms while one went to the panel in the wall and the other two guarded the cell door. "Now don't do anything heroic, baby girl," Artemis's father warned her. "I can still slit his throat before I go." Artemis stood and backed away from the cell door as the henchmen dragged Kid Flash over and threw him in; then, as soon as the door clanged shut, she scrambled forward and fell to her knees beside him. She hardly noticed as Sportsmaster and his goons left, though she clenched her teeth briefly at the mocking "See you soon, baby girl" that floated back just before the big, heavy door at the end of the hall slammed shut.

"Oh my god," Artemis whispered, hands hovering uncertainly over Kid Flash's crumpled form. Of course she'd been trained in emergency first-aid, but where to begin? Where could she touch him right now that wouldn't cause more damage? Before she could decide, Kid Flash groaned and rolled over onto his back, wincing as the bruises there made contact with the floor.

"Hey," he mumbled, looking up at her. "You okay?"

"Am I – Am _I_ okay?" Artemis demanded incredulously. "How can you even ask me that, after what he did to you?"

"'I'm a hero. It's what we do."

"I should let you suffer." Instead, she took hold of his hand, bent his arm at a ninety degree angle, and began rotating it slowly outward. "What kind of idiot provokes the guy who's kicking the crap out of him?"

"You'd've done the same."

"I'm his daughter. That's different."

"Yeah, I could see how different it was when he was choking you to death earlier. Ah!" The shoulder joint popped back into place; Kid Flash winced, then let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks, beautiful."

"You're welcome," said Artemis, dropping his arm and sitting back. "And don't be so dramatic; he wasn't going to kill me."

"Dra-" Kid Flash tried to take a deep breath, winced, then braced his hands against the ground. Seeing where he was going with this, Artemis quickly wrapped an arm around his shoulders and helped him sit up, as he'd done for her earlier. He screwed his eyes shut against the pain of moving, but once he was upright, he turned and looked at her. "Artemis-"

"Look, do you think I don't know my life is messed up?" she blurted. "Do you think there's been a day in my life when I haven't wished for a normal family? But I don't _have_ a normal family, okay? All I've got is this. And I'm _sorry_ if that bothers you, I'm sorry if it makes you squeamish-"

"That's not what this is about!"

"Then what is it about?"

"It's – you – you deserve better!"

Artemis turned away, hating the way he looked at her like she was a puppy someone had kicked. "Well, I don't have better. Get over it; I already have." She went to stand.

"Artemis, wait." A hand landed on her shoulder; she jerked out of Kid Flash's grasp and glared at him, but didn't get up. "Look, I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to piss you off. I just think you're really cool and smart and beautiful and it really bugs me that this is what you've had to live with all your life."

Artemis shrugged awkwardly, looking down. "Whatever, I'm used to it."

"Yeah, oddly enough, that doesn't help. Listen, will you promise me something?" Artemis looked up at him, but didn't respond. "No matter what happens to me, I want you to promise you'll get yourself out." Artemis opened her mouth to object. "No, listen to me," Kid Flash insisted. "I know there's a pretty good chance that I'm not gonna make it out of this. But your dad wants you to work as an assassin, right? So sooner or later, he's gonna have to let you off the leash. When that happens, go to the Justice League; they'll help you."

"Why would they trust me? I'm with the badguys, remember?"

"You are not," Kid Flash retorted. "But fine. Contact the Flash, in Central City. Tell him-" He cast a quick glance around their cell, then lowered his voice. "Tell him Wally sent you. He'll help." Artemis stared at Kid Flash – Wally – in shock; he grabbed her hand in his uninjured one and squeezed it. "Promise me," Wally pleaded.

"O-okay," Artemis said, still stunned. His name? He'd told her his _name?_ "I promise."

"Good," said Kid Flash with a sigh of relief. "At least one of us should make it out of here."

Artemis bit her lip before she could do something stupid like ask him not to die. It wasn't like he had a choice. She just felt like she was back in her childhood bedroom, watching Jade close the door behind her. Jade left because of Sportsmaster. Their mom went to jail because of him. Now he was going to kill Wally, too. "I hate him," Artemis growled, clenching her jaw so she wouldn't cry.

"Yeah, your dad pretty much sucks," said Wally. "I still can't believe Sportsmaster has kids."

Artemis snorted. "Trust me, J – Cheshire and I both wish he didn't." God, it was still so weird to call her sister "Cheshire."

"Eh, I don't know," Wally said softly, squeezing her hand again. "I kind of like the result."

"You're such a geek," said Artemis; then, without thinking, she threw her arms around Wally's shoulders. She felt him wince. "Oops, sorry!" Artemis started to pull away, but then he released her hand to bring his arm up around her back, holding her gently in place. She relaxed and pressed her forehead into the crook of his neck. "This sucks," she mumbled.

"You're telling me." Wally tried to move his broken foot and winced again; Artemis pulled back and slapped him lightly on the chest (one of the few uninjured areas).

"Stop that, you'll make it worse," she scolded.

"Yes ma'am," Wally said sheepishly. Artemis relaxed forward again and closed her eyes. "Hey Artemis?"

"Mmm?"

"Meeting you was worth getting the crap kicked out of me." Artemis snorted. "What? It's true."

"You barely know me."

"So what? I know enough." Artemis felt Wally swallow. "And – and if meeting me means you get out of this mess someday, then... then that's worth getting killed."

Artemis jerked back. "Don't say that," she hissed, glaring at him. "Don't you _ever_ say that."

"Why not? It's true," he retorted, glaring right back.

"Because I'm not worth it," Artemis snarled. "People need you, okay? You're Kid Flash. I'm just some no-account supervillain's brat. I'm – I'm daddy's little hired gun."

"Artemis-"

She pushed away from him. "No. You know what? If you want to throw your life away, be my guest. Just don't expect me to sit around and watch." Artemis got up and walked away, towards the back of the cell.

"Artemis, I-"

"Save it; I'm going to sleep." Artemis lay down on her side, facing away from him. From behind her, she heard a sigh, then a few grunts of pain as Kid Flash levered himself down to the ground.

"I'm not trying to throw my life away," he said quietly, almost as if to himself. "I just don't want to lose it over nothing." Artemis pretended not to hear. She also pretended not to notice the tears now trickling down her face into the dirt.

* * *

"Now, now, what's this? Did you two have a lover's quarrel?" Sportsmaster! Artemis startled awake. During the night, she appeared to have rolled to face the cell door; she could see him smirking down at the two of them. "You know, they say you shouldn't go to bed angry, but hey, what do I know? I haven't seen your mother in years."

"And whose fault is that, Dad?" said Artemis. She noticed as she pushed herself to her feet that the dizziness from the day before had abated.

"Don't pull that guilt trip on me, baby girl," Sportsmaster retorted. "I never asked your mother to fall off that roof."

"No, but you sure didn't stop her, did you?"

"Much as I enjoy our little chats, Artemis, this isn't why I'm here," Sportsmaster said. "The Justice League is on their way to rescue the brat, which means this base is compromised." The Justice League! Artemis felt a surge of hope: all she had to do was hold him off until the cavalry arrived, and Kid Flash would make it out of this. "It's time we were on our way; I've just got one little loose end to tie up." The door clanged open; Artemis realized with horror that she had left Wally between her and it. Cursing her foolishness, she surged to her feet and handsprang forward to land in a protective crouch in front of where he had just managed to push himself into a sitting position.

"I won't let you hurt him again," she growled.

"Sorry, baby girl," said Sportsmaster, "but that ain't up to you." Then, to Artemis's surprise and dismay, rather than sending his minions, he stepped through the door himself.

Artemis didn't let herself think, or she might have backed down; instead, she launched herself into the air and swung a leg at Sportsmaster's head with a yell. It quickly turned into a cry of surprise and pain as he grabbed hold of her ankle and threw her into a wall. "Artemis!" Kid Flash yelled, still on the ground. Artemis curled up instinctively to protect her head from being injured a second time, but the blow still stunned her long enough to find herself pinned by lackeys.

"No! Let me go!" she snarled, thrashing against them. "Kid Flash!"

"Aww, isn't that sweet," Sportsmaster said mockingly. "They're angry, but they still care. Say goodbye, Romeo." He grabbed Kid Flash by the hair, as he had on his previous visit, and drew the hunting knife.

"No," Artemis whimpered. "Nonononono..." Green eyes met hers, and it was as if infinity passed between them in an instant. Then the hunting knife plunged into Kid Flash's sternum. Two screams split the air, but Artemis didn't hear. She didn't hear anything but her pounding heart, couldn't see anything but Kid Flash's eyes – _Wally's_ eyes – widening briefly, then squeezing shut with pain. Then Sportsmaster released his grip, and Wally fell to the ground. Sounds and sensations flooded Artemis's awareness, and she became aware of words tearing their way out of her throat: "I'll kill you!" she screamed. "I'll kill you!"

Sportsmaster only chuckled and reached out to pat her head. "I look forward to seeing you try, baby girl." She didn't answer, and her eyes never left Kid Flash as her screams turned to curses and then to wordless sobs. As they started to drag her away, she saw his eyes open, his good arm reach out toward her, his lips shape her name. Then, like a puppet whose strings had been cut, he collapsed. Artemis kept fighting, struggling to reach him so she could stem the flow of blood pooling around his inert form; but slowly, bit by bit, inch by agonizing inch, her father's men dragged her away.


	3. Chapter 3

Central City was nothing like Gotham, or so Artemis had heard. The night she stepped down off a bus at the Greyhound station, it looked about the same. The rain came down in a steady drip, slowly soaking through her black hoodie and sweatpants. An abandoned newspaper lay plastered to the sidewalk nearby; a styrofoam coffee cup rolled around near a trashcan where someone had missed their shot and hadn't bothered to pick it up. The white sign above the station flickered; inside, fluorescent lights shone a sickly, dull yellow. Artemis turned away, shouldering the ratty black duffel bag that held her bow and quiver. Adopting the cold, hunched-over walk that had served to discourage trouble for years in Gotham, she strode away down the sidewalk, scowling at the ground. The few people who were out after dark in this neighborhood shifted out of her way as she walked. Artemis had spent a long time perfecting her leave-me-alone-if-you-know-what's-good-for-you vibe; it worked on pretty much everyone except supervillains.

It had been months since Artemis's encounter with Kid Flash in the Bialyan Desert, and their ensuing stay in the abandoned castle in Scotland. If she sat down and thought about it, she could probably figure out exactly how long it had been, but Artemis had tried not to count. For the first three months or so after it happened, Artemis was on lockdown, chained up in one of Sportsmaster's old hideouts in Gotham with no link to the outside world. No one came looking for her; kids dropped out at Gotham North all the time. It took that long for her father to become convinced he had snuffed most of the rebellion out of her and start letting her outside again (though never unaccompanied). At first, Artemis had held onto some kind of hope that maybe Kid Flash had survived somehow; she took to glancing discreetly at the televisions in shop windows and listening to the news in cafes as she and her father waited to meet up with contacts, on the off chance that she'd see or hear about Kid Flash zipping around with his mentor. Now and again, she'd see the Flash conducting an interview, but his sidekick was nowhere to be found. As weeks went by with no sign of him, Artemis slowly lost hope. Her mind fixated increasingly on his last words to her: "I'm not trying to throw my life away. I just don't want to lose it for nothing." Artemis had promised Kid Flash that she would get out of this situation; this time, she promised herself. Artemis Lian Crock was going to find out what it was like to live out from under her father's thumb, or she was going to die trying.

Regaining her father's trust after what had happened was tricky. It wasn't hard to pretend to be shattered after what had happened: something in Artemis had broken that day, watching that green-eyed boy bleed out in the dirt. What was far more difficult was convincing her dad that her ordeal had secured her obedience. Artemis was a Crock, after all; they weren't known for their fragility. It wasn't until she planted an arrow in a fleeing man's back on a heist that he seemed convinced. Artemis felt bad about that, but the cops were on their way. As long as he made it to the hospital in time, the man would most likely live.

When they went out for their next assignment, Artemis found the hunting knife that had taken Wally's life among her things when Sportsmaster handed them to her. Swallowing bile, she strapped it to her leg without comment.

Artemis suffered three weeks of nightmares in which the fleeing man turned into Wally and drowned in a pool of his own blood, and then it happened: Sportsmaster sent her out on an assignment without him. She wasn't alone, but it wasn't hard to give Icicle Jr. the slip. She simply convinced him it would be most efficient to split up for the mission; then, when it came time to rendezvous, she didn't show.

Knowing her father would expect her to skip town as soon as possible, Artemis laid low in Gotham for a week instead, ditching her assassin gear for a black hoodie and sweatpants she stole from a Goodwill bin, along with a duffle bag to hide her weapons. The quality of her old clothes would have marked her as someone with the means and inclination to buy good combat gear; no one would remember a teenager in sweats, which would make it easier to hide. She left her old stuff in a dumpster, along with the hunting knife. No way was she going anywhere near the Flash with the weapon that had killed his sidekick. (Jade would have laughed at the idea that a weapon could be tainted by the blood it had spilled, so Artemis didn't admit she was glad to be rid of it, even to herself.)

Finally, Artemis deemed it safe to leave town. Rather than head straight to Central, as she feared Sportsmaster might expect, she hitched a ride north to Niagara Falls and stayed there for a couple of days, eating at soup kitchens and sleeping on the streets. After that, she considered going to Chicago just to muddy the waters a little more, but realized she was just procrastinating. Artemis didn't really want to face Kid Flash's mentor after having failed so dismally to protect him from her father. Still, she had made a promise, and she intended to keep it. Sneaking aboard a Greyhound bus bound for Central had been child's play; now, here she was, and she had no idea what to do.

How did one get ahold of a superhero, anyway? Back in Gotham, there was the Bat Signal, but only Commissioner Gordon could use that. Artemis had no idea how they did it in other cities. What happened when a supervillain went on a rampage in Central? Did they just cross their fingers and pray somebody would show up before it leveled the city? Artemis shuddered. What a horrible way to live. She'd rather go down fighting any day than sit around waiting for somebody else to save her.

When it came right down to it, Artemis could think of only one good idea. Ducking into an alleyway, she knelt down in the shadow of an overhang and unzipped her duffel bag. From it, she withdrew her precious collapsible bow and her quiver, followed by a plain black domino mask. Quickly, she pulled on the mask and slung her quiver onto her shoulders, then expanded her bow and made sure the string was properly waxed, to protect it from the rain. After making a few adjustments to the balance, Artemis stood. Kicking the now-empty duffel further into the shadows in case she needed it again later (she might not find the Flash on her first try, after all), she took a running jump, grabbed onto a nearby fire escape, and swung herself up. Moving as silently as she could on the rattling metal, Artemis ran to the roof, thankfully without drawing the attention of any civilians. If there was one thing she didn't need today, it was that. Once she had reached the top, Artemis paused for a moment and took a deep breath. The world felt different without her father looking over her shoulder. It was almost intimidating in the way it spread out all around her, with no one to tell her which way to run or where to shoot. What it was more than anything, though, was exhilarating. Artemis had learned some valuable things about herself over the past two weeks or so, and she knew it didn't really matter which way she ran. The world was hers as long as she kept going.

No wonder Jade had never come home.

But Artemis was not Jade. The thought of being alone in the world like this forever, never having anyone to count on or anywhere to call home, weighed on her like a backpack full of bricks. So here she stood on a rooftop in Central City, clinging to a promise made to her six months ago by a boy she hardly knew. Put that way, the whole thing sounded ridiculous, but it wasn't like Artemis had anywhere else to go; besides, the two days for which she'd known him had proven that boy more trustworthy than anyone else she knew. If Wally said the Flash would help her, then Artemis would go to the Flash, and pray she was right about both of them.

"Okay," she said to herself, looking around the rooftop. "What next?" The best way to find a superhero was usually to find a crime. How did the heroes do it? Did they have some kind of special, crime-detecting gadgets, or did they just wander around town until they found some badguys? Artemis supposed she could just commit a crime herself, but somehow she didn't think that would make the right impression. Besides, she was on the straight and narrow now. No more crime, for any reason.

Just as Artemis was about to just pick a direction and go, she heard angry voices shouting. Having no other leads, she took off. Two rooftops over, she looked down into an alleyway and saw a large group of men clustered around two crumpled forms, taking turns kicking and hitting them. Artemis narrowed her eyes; she despised bullies. Quickly, she took aim and fired: the largest of the group went down howling with an arrow in his knee. The others looked up, terrified; Artemis took that opportunity to shoot another in the shoulder. That was all it took for the group to scatter, her first mark limping along on his injured leg. Artemis watched them go with a scowl, wishing (not for the first time) that she had access to some of Green Arrow's fancy equipment. What she wouldn't give for the ability to wrap those thugs up in nets to wait for justice. Unfortunately, her father had nothing but disdain for those sorts of trick arrows; he called them "toys" and told her Green Arrow was weak for refusing to shoot to kill. All Artemis had in her quiver were regular arrows, grappling arrows (not much use for anything but, well... grappling), and a couple of explosives, and she definitely didn't want to kill anyone. Instead, she stood and watched over the victims as they slowly uncurled, revealing themselves to be a pair of young men in their mid-twenties. When it registered that their tormentors were really gone, one launched himself at the other and they clung to each other in a tight hug. Artemis watched with an ache in her heart, remembering how Kid Flash had held her in that prison cell long ago, before she had gotten angry with him for caring about her and stormed away. She'd only had to worry about Sportsmaster's wrath, and that had been more than enough; those two had the whole world gunning for them. One of the men scanned the rooftops, looking for their rescuer, and spotted her; Artemis gave him a tight nod and turned away. They'd be all right, for now. As for the future, well, nothing was ever sure about that.

Two muggings and an attempted rape later (Artemis had to restrain herself from shooting that last one in the testicles; she was pretty sure men could die from that), Artemis heard the sound of a store alarm and grinned. Finally! If this didn't get the Flash's attention, she didn't know what would. It was certainly loud enough; Artemis gritted her teeth at the piercing noise as she drew near. In fact, by the time she arrived, the Flash was already there. Artemis stopped for a moment to watch, eyes wide with awe. It was so much different in person than on TV. Hollywood had all kinds of tricks up their sleeves these days; it wasn't really all that shocking to see incredible things on a television screen. But to be here, in person, and know that that red blur streaking around knocking over criminals was an actual human being... it was mind-boggling. Not for the first time, Artemis marveled at the world in which she lived.

Then, finally, that blur resolved itself into the shape of a person; Artemis started, cursing herself for her inaction. Now he'd be gone before he even knew she was there and she'd have to hunt him down all over again. Just then, a flicker of movement behind the hero caught her eye; Artemis spotted one of the thugs who had supposedly been knocked unconscious sitting up and raising his gun. Faster than conscious thought, Artemis raised her bow and shot the weapon out of the robber's hand. The Flash turned at the sound of it clattering to the floor and zipped over to knock the man unconscious for real, then looked up at the roof where Artemis stood. Her breath caught: this was it. This was the moment she'd been waiting for all these months, ever since her grief had abated long enough for her to remember her promise. Artemis squeezed her eyes shut and willed herself to move.

"Hey, kid," said a voice behind her. Artemis squeaked, spun around, and dropped into a fighting stance, bow drawn and heart hammering. "Whoa, easy there, sport," said the Flash, raising his hands in front of his chest. Holy crap, he was fast. "I'm not gonna hurt you. I just wanted to say thanks for the save." Artemis nodded stiffly, lowering her bow and straightening. All of a sudden, she wondered what she was doing here. Why would the Flash want to help her? Why would he trust her? For that matter, how did she know she could trust him? The hero squinted at her. "Are you with Green Arrow? He didn't say he'd taken on a new protege; I thought he was still hoping Speedy would come around." Artemis blinked at this last bit (she had not been aware of any drama between Green Arrow and his sidekick), and shook her head.

"My name is Artemis," she said at last, then took a deep breath and forced herself to continue: "W-Wally sent me." It was the first time she'd said his name since Scotland - the first time she'd said his real name at all. The Flash's face went slack with shock; Artemis heard her bow clatter to the ground and suddenly realized she was crying. Great, heaving sobs wracked her body as she covered her face with her hands. A moment later, there was a gust of wind, and Artemis found herself crying into the scarlet uniform she'd seen so many times on TV. The Flash held her for a long while; only when her sobs had subsided did he speak.

"It's okay," he told her, "you're safe now. Do you have a place to stay? And not a hotel," he warned. "I'm talking about friends, family." Artemis shook her head, still sniffling. "I'm going to take you home with me then, okay?" Artemis looked up at him in astonishment; the Flash gave her a crooked smile. "Hey, if Wally trusted you, then so will I. Here." He released his hold to pick up her bow and hand it to her. "You'd better hang onto that. Ready?" Without waiting for an answer, he scooped her up. The world blurred away with a fierce blast of wind that forced Artemis to close her eyes; when she opened them, they were standing in front of what she could only assume was the Flash's house. It was a two-story building made of a beige material, with a tiled roof and a window bay in the front. Carefully, he set Artemis on her feet. "My wife hates it when I use my speed in the house," he explained. "Come on." Wrapping a protective arm around Artemis' shoulders, he led her inside. As he closed the door behind them, Artemis stared around at the warm beige walls and sturdy, polished furnishings. She'd been inside a house like this only once before, when a girl from kindergarten had a birthday party and invited the whole class. Now, at sixteen years old, she felt as if she were that little girl again, seeing this whole other world of brightness and comfort for the first time.

"Barry?" a female voice called. "Is that you?" A moment later, a pretty redheaded woman came into the entryway. "Oh," she said as she caught sight of Artemis. "You brought company."

The Flash pulled off his cowl, revealing short blonde hair and blue eyes. "Iris, this is Artemis," he said. "She's a friend of Wally's. Artemis, I'm Barry, and this is my wife, Iris."

"You're that reporter," Artemis realized. "The one who's always on when the Flash shows up."

"That's me," the woman said with a smile.

"Iris, I'm sorry to spring this on you, but Artemis needs a place to stay," said Barry. "Do you think we could-?"

"Oh, of course!" said Iris. "Barry, why don't you go make up the bed in the guest room? Artemis, come with me; I'll show you where the shower is and get you a fresh change of clothes."

Artemis hesitated; Barry nudged her. "Go on, kid," he said with a wink. "Iris doesn't bite. Well, unless it's me."

"You're a big boy, you can handle it," Iris told him. "Come on, Artemis. You look like you could use a hot shower." Only then did Artemis realize she was shivering; reluctantly, she stepped towards the woman and followed her up the stairs.

It felt like it had been years since Artemis had had a hot shower, though she knew she'd had one the day before her assignment with Icicle Junior. As she stood under the spray and waited for the water to soak into her long blonde hair, she felt herself relaxing for the first time in a long time. Everything in her life had been so twisted and wrong for such a long time, in ways that had gotten even worse after Wally – after what happened; it was hard to believe it was really over. Somehow, this was what convinced her. When she finally stepped out of the bathroom, clean and dressed in the flannel pants and oversized T-shirt that Iris had provided, Artemis felt like a new person.

"I was starting to think you'd drowned," Iris teased. "All that hair must take a while to wash, huh? Are you hungry?" Artemis opened her mouth to say no, but at just that moment, her stomach rumbled loudly. She glared down at it; Iris laughed. "Come on downstairs and we'll get you something to eat. One of the upsides to living with the Flash is that there's always food in the kitchen... as long as you get there first." She winked conspiratorially at Artemis, who gave her a small smile in return. It felt good. With a pleased smile of her own, Iris led the way downstairs into the kitchen. Artemis blinked around in startlement: the walls were red. In a way, it made sense; this was the Flash's house, after all. It wasn't exactly subtle, though, particularly given the almost golden walls everywhere else. Artemis had had no idea a color scheme could be so pervasive in a person's life.

"What would you like?" asked Iris, walking to the sleek metal refrigerator and opening it to look inside. "Are you in the mood for anything in particular?"

Artemis shrugged, then realized Iris wasn't looking at her. "Not really." She hadn't had a choice in what she ate in a long time; the idea of choosing now was almost intimidating.

Iris glanced over; her eyes narrowed. "Hmm... aha! I know." She closed the refrigerator and opened the freezer instead. After rummaging around for a bit, she withdrew a container of ice cream. "Just this once, we can have ice cream for dinner. Just don't tell Barry." She winked. "How do you feel about Rocky Road?"

"Rocky Road is... fine," Artemis said, offering the woman another ghost of a smile. Iris smiled back and closed the freezer. Setting the ice cream down on the center island (their kitchen had an island; this was so surreal), she went to grab two spoons, two bowls, and an ice cream scoop out of the cupboards. Artemis perched gingerly on a stool at the island; Iris returned and sat down across from her. They each scooped out their portion of Rocky Road, then settled in to eat. Artemis hadn't realized how hungry she was; she ended up going back for seconds. They were both quiet until about halfway through that second bowl, when Artemis' stomach finally quieted a little. Then she swallowed and asked the question that had been bothering her since she arrived: "So... are all heroes this suicidally trusting, or is it just a Flash thing?"

Iris burst out laughing. "It's a Flash thing," she assured Artemis. "Something about that red-and-yellow just makes them hopelessly optimistic. The Green Lanterns are worse, though: only one of the three of them even bothers with a mask."

"That's crazy," said Artemis.

Iris shrugged. "It's who they are. Some people can handle living a double life; some people can't. Barry and Wally are somewhere in the middle: they can handle it if they need to, but their definition of 'need to' is definitely a little vague." She glanced at Artemis. "Why? Does it bother you?"

"Doesn't it bother you?" Artemis retorted. "You barely know me, and now I know where you live and that you're married to the Flash. Doesn't that worry you a little?"

"Not particularly." Iris shrugged again. "I trust Barry's judgment. Besides, you seem like you could use a helping hand."

"I'm bad news," Artemis mumbled, poking at her rapidly-melting ice cream with her spoon.

"Now that, I seriously doubt," said Iris. "Troubled, yes. But bad news? Not a chance. Artemis, look at me." The teen obeyed, and gulped: Iris' eyes were almost exactly the same color as Wally's. She supposed they must be related somehow. "Barry told me how you saved his life tonight. You're a good kid. All you need is a chance to show it." Iris gave Artemis a warm, sympathetic smile; Artemis looked down and resumed poking at her ice cream. She wished she could believe this kind-hearted woman, but all she could see when she looked in those eyes was Wally looking up at her, broken and bleeding on the ground.

"Ice cream for dinner?" Artemis looked up and saw the Flash – Barry – standing in the doorway in civilian clothes, looking affronted. "Iris, you never let me have ice cream for dinner!"

"Busted," Iris told Artemis, smirking; then, to Barry, "Well, you'd better sit down and have some, then, because this is your one and only chance. There's an extra tub in the freezer." Barry grinned and walked over to drop a kiss on her cheek before heading to the freezer to pull out another tub of Rocky Road. Grabbing a spoon from the silverware drawer, he joined them on Iris' side of the island. For a couple of minutes, the loudest sounds in the room were the hum of the refrigerator and the clinking of spoons against bowls as they all ate their ice cream; then, suddenly, Artemis couldn't stand it anymore. She put her spoon down.

"I'm sorry I got Wally killed," she blurted. Tears blurred her vision as she stared down at her half-empty bowl; a moment later, she felt warm arms encircle her and found herself crying on Iris' shoulder. She didn't understand. Why were they being so nice to her when she'd just admitted it was her fault Wally was dead? If she'd stayed awake that night in the desert, if she'd fought harder to hold her dad off until the Justice League arrived...

"Artemis, sweetie, look at me," said Iris. With great effort, Artemis forced herself to look up into those green eyes. "Wally isn't dead."

Artemis froze. "He's not?" she whispered.

"No, sweetie, he's not." Iris smiled at her. Artemis scanned the woman's face for a sign that this was some kind of trick and found nothing but honesty and compassion.

"But – I saw -" Artemis swallowed. "My d – Sportsmaster -"

"The League found him just in time to rush him to a hospital," said the Flash, who had followed Iris around the island and now stood beside her. "It was touch-and-go for a while, but he pulled through just fine."

Artemis looked back and forth between the two of them in bewilderment as the nightmare world she'd been living in for the past six months dissolved, leaving her dazed and confused. Wally was alive? "Can I see him?"

"First thing tomorrow morning," Barry promised. "For now, I think we'd all better get some sleep. It's been a long day." Artemis nodded reluctantly. As much as she wanted to verify that Wally really was all right, she couldn't deny that she was exhausted. Everything she'd been through was catching up to her all at once, leaving her bone-weary.

"Barry, would you mind taking care of the dishes? I'll show Artemis to the guest bedroom," said Iris. Without waiting for a response, she led Artemis out of the kitchen.

"But I looked for him," Artemis said suddenly. "O-on the news." Sure, she'd only been able to steal glances here and there, but how could she have missed him so entirely?

Iris raised her eyebrows. "Well, I don't know what channel you were watching, but it was obviously the wrong one." She hesitated, then wrapped an arm around Artemis' shoulders and steered her into the living room. "There's something you need to see." Sitting down on the couch, she turned the TV on and started searching through TiVo recordings. Artemis sat down just as the redheaded woman found what she was looking for and pressed play. Artemis found herself looking at Iris West Allen, pointing a microphone at a vibrantly, beautifully alive Kid Flash. Artemis felt a shock run through her at the sight of him.

"-here with Kid Flash today. As many of you know, Kid Flash has not been seen often in Central City of late. I'm here with GBS News to ask: Kid Flash, where have you been lately? Are you thinking of giving up the hero gig?"

"What? No," Kid Flash said with a laugh, making a negating gesture with his hands. "No, the truth is, I've been looking for someone."

TV-Iris arched her eyebrows in surprise. "Oh? Does this mysterious person have a name?"

"She does, but I can't tell you what it is," the hero said, and winked. "Secret identity, and all."

"So she's a superhero, then?"

"I think she could be, if she wanted to."

"Well as you know, we are now live on channel 10. In case this mystery girl is watching, is there anything you'd like to say to her?" asked Iris, and held out the microphone.

Kid Flash took a deep breath and looked straight at the camera. "Just that everything I said to her before was true, and I'm not gonna stop looking until I find her. And, um, I'm still gonna hold her to what she said to me, because if anyone can do it, it's her."

"She sounds like a lucky girl," Iris commented.

"Not particularly," said Wally, scratching his head a little awkwardly. "But, uh – I think her luck's gonna change, one of these days."

"And there you have it," said Iris. "Reporting live from Central City, this is Iris West-Allen. Cat, back to you."

Next to Artemis, Iris raised the remote and turned off the TV. "That was playing on every major news network for three weeks straight. The viewers ate it up; everyone was calling it 'the Cinderella story of the decade.' I don't know how you missed it." Artemis didn't say anything, but she wondered if that was during the time when her dad had her locked up. "He's been looking for you, Artemis," Iris said quietly, reaching over to put a comforting hand on the teenager's knee. "That's why he hasn't been on the news."

"Such a drama queen," Artemis muttered. "He knew me for, like, two days."

Iris arched an eyebrow at the younger girl. "And who was it crying over him in my kitchen ten minutes ago?" Artemis felt her face grow hot; Iris smirked at her. "Sometimes, two days is enough. Now come on; let's get you to bed."

* * *

A few minutes later, Iris closed the door to the guest bedroom and turned to find Barry standing beside her. "She's asleep," she said quietly. "Conked out the moment her head hit the pillow."

Barry shook his head. "Poor kid. How long do you think she's been on the run?"

"I don't know, but she looked like she hadn't had a decent meal in weeks." Iris's eyes narrowed. "So let's hope the answer is 'a few weeks,' or else I'm going to have a few things to say to this Sportsmaster."

"A few more things, you mean?" Barry chuckled. "You've had a few things to say to him since the League first found Wally in that castle." He sobered quickly. "I've contacted the League; they know she's here. We'll be meeting up with them tomorrow to decide what happens next."

"Have you told Wally?"

"He's out on a mission with the team," said Barry. "I'll tell him tomorrow. Good thing he doesn't have school."

"Like he'd go."

"Exactly." The two shared a rueful smile, then turned to contemplate the door to the guest bedroom.

"What do you think is going to happen?" Iris asked.

"Well, Green Arrow's been needing a new sidekick," said Barry. "He might be willing to take her on. She'll probably end up staying at the Cave with M'gann and Conner. That is, assuming she wants to be part of the team. If not..." He sighed. "We'll figure something out."

"Poor girl," Iris said with a sigh. Barry wrapped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed. "If any of what Wally said about how her father treated her was true..."

Barry thought of the wild, wary look in the teenager's eyes as she whirled to face him on that rooftop. "I get the feeling he didn't know the half of it."

* * *

"Recognized: Artemis, A06. Flash, 04."

Traveling by zeta tube was probably the weirdest thing Artemis had ever done, and she'd done a lot of weird things. There was a moment like being plunged underwater in the Arctic; then her body tingled all over, there was a strange rushing sound in her ears, and for a moment she wasn't entirely sure she existed. At last, she emerged on the other side, whole and unchanged except for a whole slew of philosophical questions she wasn't sure she wanted answered. Setting those aside for now, Artemis looked around. She was in a large, cave-like structure with some kind of round metal thing coming out of the ceiling. As the echoes of a robotic voice announcing her entrance faded away, Artemis stepped forward, feeling a little shabby in her black hoodie and sweatpants. When she had chosen these items in Gotham, it had been a matter of practicality and availability. They were all she could get her hands on, and they would help her avoid attracting attention, provided she kept her bow and quiver hidden unless absolutely necessary (hence the duffle bag that now lay abandoned in an alleyway in Central). But even the entrance to this place practically screamed "Super Lair," and right now Artemis just felt like some runaway teen in a cheap mask. Even the quiver on her back and the bow collapsed in her hoodie pocket offered her little comfort. She felt a hand settle on her shoulder and looked over to see the Flash, who had come through the zeta tube behind her, giving her an encouraging smile. Taking a deep breath, she let him steer her to the center of the room, where Batman stood looking at several holographic screens, and even typing on one of them. Artemis immediately realized what the big metal thing was for, and looked up at it in fascinated curiosity. She would love a chance to figure out exactly how that worked.

"Batman," said Flash. Artemis's attention snapped back to the matter at hand. "Good to see you."

"Flash." He didn't look up.

"This is Artemis, the girl Kid Flash has been looking for," said Flash. "Artemis, this is-"

"Batman, I know," she said. "I grew up in Gotham." Batman's fingers paused at this; his head bowed a little.

"Is Green Arrow here yet?" Flash asked.

"Not yet. He should be arriving shortly."

A red and blue blur entered the cave, bringing with it a gust of air and a stream of chatter: "Uncle Barry, is that you? I heard the zeta – Artemis!" Wally skidded to a halt, eyes wide as he stared at her. For a moment, all she could do was stare back, paralyzed with shock, relief, and an unexpected anxiety. All of a sudden, she felt doubly self-conscious about her shabby "costume," even though he was just wearing jeans and a red shirt.

"Hey," she managed finally. The desert had been one thing, the castle had been another, but this was the "real" world. Back in the context of civilization, Artemis was suddenly fiercely aware of the gaping chasm between his world and hers. Who was she kidding? How could anyone bridge that gap? How could a Gotham girl and the fresh-faced sidekick of a Justice League member ever have anything to do with each other?

Then there was another gust of air, and Artemis found herself wrapped in a tight, desperate hug. "You're here," said Wally, his voice muffled in her hair. "You did it. You're here."

Artemis clenched her teeth past her first instinct to throw him into the ground and deliberately relaxed, hesitantly bringing her arms up under his to return the embrace. "I said I would, didn't I?"

"Well yeah, but there was your dad, and it's been so long, and... god, Artemis, I was so worried."

"_You_ were worried?" Artemis pulled back enough to glare up at him. "I thought you were dead!"

"Wh – dead?" Wally blinked at her in astonishment. "But didn't you see the-"

"Not 'til last night," said Artemis.

"Last night?" Wally blinked and looked over her shoulder, presumably at the Flash, then rolled his eyes and muttered, "Aunt Iris." His eyes returned to hers. "But it was all over the news. How did you not-"

"Dad kinda had me on lockdown," Artemis admitted.

Wally scowled. "You mean he had you locked up. Artemis, how did you escape?"

Artemis thought of the man she'd shot and shuddered. "It doesn't matter."

"Actually, it does." They both looked up at where Batman had pulled up some information on the holoscreens, including a photograph. "This man was found shot in the back with a steel-tipped arrow at the scene of a heist in Gotham City," Batman continued. "Valuable tech was stolen that night from the facility at which he was working." He narrowed his eyes at Artemis. "Sound familiar?"

Artemis sighed and pulled away from Wally, crossing her arms over her chest and looking down. "Yeah, that was me."

"Care to explain?" Artemis could understand how the criminals of Gotham could be so terrified of this man. From his tone, she understood on a visceral level that if she didn't have a good enough explanation, things would go very, very badly for her.

"My dad had me under lock and key," said Artemis. "He was barely letting me out of his sight long enough to go to the bathroom. I knew if I was ever going to get away, I had to convince him that..." She swallowed. "That I wasn't going to fight him anymore."

"There, you see?" Wally insisted. "It wasn't her fault!" No one answered him.

Artemis forced herself to look at Batman. "Is he...?"

"The man you shot is alive and in recovery," said Batman. "Fortunately, wounds of that nature have a high survival rate, provided the patient reaches a hospital in time, which I suspect you knew. Police were already on their way; an ambulance arrived not long after." Artemis let out a breath of relief, her arms dropping to her sides. Wally grabbed hold of her hand; Artemis squeezed gratefully, and felt happy butterflies in her stomach when he squeezed back. "However, regardless of the results, such tactics are not tolerated by the Justice League. Should you choose to join the team-"

"Join the team?" Artemis interrupted, brow furrowed. He couldn't mean-

"Not the Justice League," the Flash clarified. "We have a more... age-appropriate option."

Then it clicked. "Whoa, wait a minute, you mean his team?" she demanded, jerking her head at Wally. "The one with all your special proteges or partners or whatever?"

"Dude, Artemis, that would be so cool!" Wally exclaimed. "I could introduce you to everybody, show you around the Cave-"

Artemis wasn't listening. "But aren't you afraid I'll, I don't know... betray them all to the Shadows or something?"

"The League does not discriminate based on family background," said Batman.

"Artemis, Kid Flash told us what happened in Bialya and in Scotland," said Flash. "You did everything you could to protect him, even when it meant putting your own personal safety at risk. I think that earns you some trust."

"Flash is correct. However-"

"Right, no more shooting innocent people in the back, got it," Artemis said. It wasn't exactly a sacrifice. "But seriously, I get to join the team?" Batman narrowed his eyes again, but nodded.

"Sweet!" Wally exclaimed. He tugged her in the direction from which he'd come. "I'll give you the grand tour. M'gann is gonna be so-"

"It'll have to wait," said Batman; a computerized voice announced the arrival of "Green Arrow, 08" and a figure materialized in the zeta tubes.

"Hey everyone, sorry I'm late," said Green Arrow as he walked out of the tube. "Patrol ran late last night. What did I miss?"

"Artemis has agreed to join the team," said Batman.

"Really? That's great! So you must be Artemis, then," he said, stopping in front of her. "I've heard a lot about you. Good to finally put a face to the name – or, well, most of a face." He offered a hand; Artemis shook it a little warily. "Word has it you're an archer. You any good?"

She smirked, feeling some of her old bravado return. "Pretty decent."

"Do you have your own bow?" Artemis pulled it out of her hoodie and handed it over; Green Arrow expanded it to its full size and looked it over. "Nice," he commented. "But I think I can do better, unless this one means something special to you."

"My dad gave it to me," Artemis said flatly, "so no."

Green Arrow's mouth quirked in sympathy under his mustache, but he said nothing as he handed back the bow. Artemis' shoulders relaxed a little when she had her weapon back in hand, though she tried not to show it. Arrow went over to one of the hollow screens and pressed a few buttons; a target appeared on the opposite side of the holographic projection platform. "Let's see what kind of shot you are." Artemis took a few steps back (dropping Wally's hand in the process), drew an arrow, and shot. She barely took time to aim; she didn't need to. The arrow sailed through the target dead center and planted itself in the cave wall behind it. Artemis watched it quiver there with a satisfied smile. "Not bad," said Green Arrow with a smile of his own. "Artemis, I would be honored to be your mentor."

"Won't Speedy object?" Artemis asked. She saw Wally shift uncomfortably out of the corner of her eye.

"Speedy, ah – Speedy went solo," Green Arrow said, looking down. "Goes by Red Arrow now."

"Oh," said Artemis. "Uh... sorry?" She got the feeling now wasn't the time for a crack about how original the new name was.

"Ah, everybody's gotta grow up sometime," said Green Arrow. Artemis got the distinct impression there was more to it than that, but didn't press. He looked up at her again. "So how about it? You in?"

Artemis hummed thoughtfully, tapping her chin in mock contemplation, then grinned. "I'm in."

"Now that that's settled, we need to discuss the issue of accommodations," said Batman. "The most obvious choice would be for Artemis to stay at the Cave-"

"I'm fine with that," Artemis interrupted, then shrank back at the look Batman gave her. "Sorry," she muttered.

"However, there is an alternative," he continued, and tapped a few buttons in front of him. "I did some digging. Paula Crock, formerly known as Huntress, was released from prison on July 31st of last year." Artemis went stiff with shock as a picture of her mother appeared before them, accompanied by panels of information. "Her repeated attempts to find you have all met with failure; however, if you so choose, the League can contact her to let her know we have custody of you and the two of you can go from there. It's your call."

"Right on time," Artemis growled. "Mom got out of prison right on time. That bastard lied to me."

"You can take as long as you need to decide what you want to do," said Batman. "There's a room made up in the Cave; you can stay there for now. I suggest you take some time to think about it."

Artemis opened her mouth to say that of course she wanted to live with her mom, it was all she'd thought about for years, then looked up at the holoscreen and froze. Her mother's face stared back at her, sharp features painted with war paint, dressed in the uniform she'd worn the night she fell from the roof and was arrested. Artemis realized suddenly that she didn't know this person, not anymore. After six years in prison, Paula Crock could be as bad as Lawrence, maybe worse. "Yeah," she said, looking away. "Okay."

There was a brief, uncomfortable silence. "Soooo if that's everything?" said Wally, after a bit. Artemis looked over and almost laughed: he was literally bouncing with excitement.

"That's everything," said Batman.

"Awesome! So-"

"Wait a sec," Artemis said to Wally, then turned to the three adult heroes in the room. "Thank you," she said, looking at each of them in turn. Her eyes landed on the Flash last, remembering his willingness to bring a ragtag teenager into his own home on nothing but the word of his sidekick. "For everything."

Flash stepped forward and put a hand on her shoulder. "It was our pleasure, Artemis," he told her warmly. Artemis knew he wasn't just talking about the League. The moment his hand dropped, Artemis found herself swept up in a familiar pair of arms.

"Okay great, that's awesome, everything's set now right? Gottagobye!" Artemis just barely had time to collapse her bow before Kid Flash took off. She couldn't help a burst of laughter at the sudden speed. It was the first time Artemis had laughed in a very long time; she reveled in the feel of it bubbling out of her chest to hang in the air behind them. She felt Wally's chest shaking as he laughed with her; the last of the tension that had been clinging to her melted away at the sound. "First stop on the tour: the back door!" he announced grandly, coming to a halt.

"Whoa," said Artemis from her comfortable perch in Kid Flash's arms. "Cool." They stood on a ledge overlooking a bright, clear bay surrounded by green-coated mountains with only traces of brown poking through at their tops. By the water on the far shore sat neat rows of brightly-colored houses, nestled amongst the trees. There was a small cozy-looking beach just below them, hemmed in by the landscape to the point where it would have been difficult to reach it without superpowers; a mottled lump of rock and bushes sat a little ways offshore with one brave tree standing stubbornly atop it. Around the island sat several round patches of bare stone, some of which disappeared beneath the waves periodically as the water swelled and receded. Seagulls cried overhead as they soared in search of food, and crickets chirped from the nearby bushes, creating a soothing counterpoint to the sound of waves crashing against the rocks below. Artemis took a deep, appreciative breath of the fresh, salty sea breeze; then, seeing Wally turn his head to look at her, she looked back, and promptly forgot everything else. Once again, it hit her that he wasn't dead, that he hadn't bled out in that cell, that she hadn't really watched those beautiful green eyes close for good. He was here, breathing, holding her and looking at her with that big doofy grin that should have been embarrassing but was somehow endearing instead.

"I should have done this a long time ago," Wally murmured.

Artemis smirked at him and looped an arm over his shoulders. "No kidding." They both leaned in. This wasn't Artemis's first kiss, but the first guy had kept shoving his tongue in her mouth in a way that made her feel like a castle under siege. Wally, for all his bravado and ridiculous pick-up lines, was much less insistent: his lips met hers almost hesitantly, opening just enough to let her top lip fit between them, followed by the bottom. Both their tongues stayed firmly in their mouths, allowing Artemis to focus on the intimacy of having someone else's face so close to hers that she could feel her own breath bouncing off his skin. The morning sun shone bright overhead as they kissed; the wind tugged gently at their hair and clothes, making Artemis's ponytail sway gently. As Wally's arms tightened around her, Artemis decided that no matter what came next, this moment right here was worth it all.


End file.
